Twilight in Silver
by SirenTemptress
Summary: Emily and Peter came form to different homes with two different upbringings. One was bought up surrounded by family and love where as the other was bought up to think that they were worthless and the devil. Can they help each other in ways other can't? Will they do it? Set around the trilogy (for the most part) rated M in advance. Re-Write of previous story.
1. Prologue-Two Different Beginnings

AN: so I realised there was a lot of mistakes in the original prologue, it was also very short so I decided to re do it. Hope you guys enjoy it!

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Twilight in Silver

Prologue-Two different beginnings

The USSR Emergency Hospital

Year: 1986

Month: June

Where: Confined Maternity Ward, USSR (Russia)

The majority of patients submitted to our Confined Maternity Ward have been done so due to the dramatic effects of the Chernobyl Disaster that took place on the 26th of April in Ukraine. Some of the patients submitted have sustained injuries from the disaster with a few being in seemingly good health.

The majority of their new-borns, on the other hand, have fallen to quite the opposite fate. Many are deformed and have extra limbs, missing limbs or the limbs that they do have are either unusable or have been disfigured in other ways. Except for one case.

A son born to Nikolai and Alexandra Rasputin has a very different mutation. The boy was born in much the way that any child is except he was in perfect health. He had pink skin, a small spatter of dark hair and dark eyes. After the new born had been cleaned up and his health checked, he suddenly became a form of organic steel. He could also still move in much the same way other healthy new borns do.

After a while, the baby became human. But not until he was held for the first time by his mother.

Due to the young age of the child and the circumstances to which he was born into, the child's mutation will not be tested.

Nikolai and Alexandra took their son, Piotr Nikolaievitch, home a week later.

* * *

Boston Children's Hospital

Year: 1986

Month: December

Where: New Born and Maternity Ward, USA

Today was much the same day. New borns were born, mother's to be came in for check-ups, a few babies' came in for jabs etc.

Except today was a little out of the ordinary. The new Maternity Ward saw its first pair of twins born to Robert and Madeline Drake; you would think they would have a reason to be happy.

Their first child, a son, was born 3:15 pm. He was in the perfect health that is standard for new borns. Their second child, however, that was something different.

Mr and Mrs Drake's daughter was born with the ease of buttering bread. She caused very little pain to her mother and was born at 3:20 pm. However, somehow she was born in a liquid filled sac made of skin. This would explain why Madeline and her husband were not expecting twins as the scanner could not penetrate the sac. That wasn't the end to their daughter's abnormalities.

The baby girl, whose sac we had to slice open to get to, was born with no mouth. An hour later, however, one appeared. The last abnormality was that her blue eyes her very bright, to the point where they'd possibly glow in the dark.

Robert and Madeline Drake gave their daughter, Emily Rose, up for adoption. She was given to Dr Ralph Kingswood and his wife Louise who are in charge of a New Born Abnormality Correcting Facility in the suburbs of New York.


	2. Chapter 1-The Hard

**The Hard, the hurt and the difficult.**

Emily's POV

Nothing could've prepared anyone to the things that were happening to me. The way I was forced to live.

I spent my nights locked up in a jail cell type room. There was a very uncomfortable bed, a toilet and a sink. The only window I had was cased in bars. The only thing good about my room was the book that would be changed after I had read it. Other than that not much.

My days were worse. Much worse...

I began my day taking a mood control tablet at 6 o'clock every morning. Then I was sent to the mess hall for breakfast. No matter what meal I had during the day, it was always the same. Slop, just different colours everyday. Otherwise known as porridge. I was then in 'therapy' all morning, from 7 until 1 in the afternoon, breaking for lunch. I then was given half an hour to swap my book and shower before doing labor on the center grounds.

The 'therapy' was the worst and by far the hardest part of every single day. The type of 'therapy' I was given changed on a regular basis, but it was always to do with physically harming my body. They always said that the reason why I was here was because I have a demon inside me that was making me do inhuman things and forcing me to act in inhuman ways.

I knew that couldn't be true. Demons only exist in stories.

The generally day was 6 am until 6 pm, then we were given three hours of free time before curfew.

I've been in this place for so long that I couldn't tell anyone what day it was if they asked me, or what year, or how old I am.

I know I must be a teenager, as womanly things have happened to me at least 14 times. But thats it.

I don't even know what my face looks like. All I know is what I can see which is the tips of my blonde hair, my curvy figure and the end of my seemingly normal nose. Other than that? Nothing.

The electrocution I went through every morning left me feeling strange, a bit out of place. I was left with a dull ache at the nape of my neck and a throb in my jaw. It left my torso feeling as empty as an abandoned bucket. It was just...odd.

I loved being in the garden though. The small of normality it gave to my 'life' kept me feeling like I was on the right side of sane.

Walking into the sunlight felt like heaven to me. The warmth on my skin, my body producing vitamin D. The light reflected off the stark white uniform I was forced to wear, the sun blinding my eyes as security personnel opened the door that led to the beautiful garden. It was full of beautiful plots of flowers, fruit and vegetables. There were tall, green trees full of fruit and blossoms. It was paradise compared to the prison inside.

When my eyes came into focus, I looked up. Standing there, about ten meters away, was an ageing man. The same man that had been there everyday of every week since I could remember. Mr. Jacobs. He was the kindest man I had ever met. Then again the only other people I have met are those like me who have been harmed like me and those who perform said harming.

Today's job consisted of watering all the plants that we grew, harvesting the fruit and veg, as well as trimming the bushes so they didn't poke through the fence. It was tiring but worth it.

The aspect that made it worth it was that the 'camp' was situated in the middle of a forest on the out skirts of Westchester. This meant that there were commonly a few groups of people that went trekking through the woods. It was nice to see that there were some people who were free to live how that wanted to and that they were filling their time with activities that they loved.

They never saw me though. I always hid behind a small shield of shrubs that only just thinned out enough, at my eye level, to look through and see a small part of the trail. Seeing those people out there gave me a small glimmer of hope that told me that someday I'll get out of this hell hole.

Little did I know, that day would come sooner then I thought...

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Piotr's POV

I loved the farm, I loved my family and I loved my friends. But I couldn't help but think that something was missing. Doing the same thing everyday can only give you so much.

My day revolved around getting up at the crack of dawn, doing work on the family farm, going to the small village school, then more work on the farm before going back to bed. Between all that were various other things like meals, but that was mainly my week. The only difference were weekends when I didn't have school.

My name is Piotr Nikolaievitch, I am currently fourteen years old and I'm commonly seen helping out on my families farm. I spend any free time I have helping out, if not with our farm then I'm helping out our neighbors and friends.

I loved the business of my day to day life. If I wasn't helping out, I'm either at school, sleeping or eating meals with my family. My day starts at 5am and doesn't finish until 9pm most days. Having something to do that also helped others gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me feel that I was doing something good every single day.

The only down side to my life is the look on my parents face that they don't think I see. Every now and them I catch either one or both of them looking at me as if they feel sorry for me or blame themselves for something involving me. It's an odd and kind of sad look that forces me to push on with things in order to distract myself.

It was the late afternoon. My brother, sister and I had just got back from school and were helping to harvest one of the crop fields. On the farm collective we had a few tractors to help us speed up the process, but the majority of us still harvested crops by hand.

My older brother, Mikhail, was talking to a neighbor of ours while our younger sister, Illyana, was busying herself by picking wild flowers for our mother. That was when it happened.

"Pete, you're sister!" One of the other farmers shouted at me.

My head snapped up and all I could see was a tractor, with no driver, speeding towards my younger.

My head went blank, I couldn't think of anything. Instead I dropped the harvesting fork I was using and ran to my younger sister's aid. As I ran, I felt my muscles stiffen. As I reached out for my sister, I had no time to notice what had happened.

After I grabbed my sister, I had no time to move out of the way. The only thing I could was spin round as fast as possible so my back would take the hit. I squeezed my eyes shut and held onto Illyana as tight as possible, protecting her from the blow.

I opened my eyes, surprised to see that we were both still alive, yet no one else had come to stop the tractor. After the smoke cleared I let her go and turned back round. There were pieces of the tractor every, its remaining fuel making a puddle on the ground. I saw everyone else who had been working that day stood there, even my brother, staring at me as if I were some sort of miracle or something.

All I did was save my sister, like most other brothers would do. Or at least, I think they would.

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a piece of the tractors rusty body work that was lying by my feet. My skin was silver, as well as hard and as durable as steel.

Looks like I found out my parents secret after all.


	3. Chapter 2-Safe Day

Chapter 2: Safe Day!

Emily's POV

Today wasn't normal. The therapy didn't do anything. I couldn't feel anything.

I turned my head to the left; something was pulling it that way. It was a mirror.

I saw myself for the first time, or what I thought was myself.

My eyes were glowing and a bright blue colour, the areas of my body that were attached to the electrifying equipment looked like rock, it was just small patches of skin.

I started screaming, and then gained control of my body somehow.

I pulled up, the various tubes and restraints' breaking from the force my body was producing.

I made a break for it, but a crowd of men blocked my path.

Then I felt a taser against my back before my body fell limp.

I woke up in confinement. The room looked exactly the same, only there was nothing in it except a metal bench and a bucket.

I looked round, and then a loud sound pierced my ears.

The alarm went off at five this morning, dude to one of the cooks setting something on fire. No one bothered going to sleep after that, I only knew this because I heard mumbling outside of my room and banging in the other rooms. No one would be able to get to sleep, even if they tried.

That wasn't the weirdest bit.

I got out!

The security failed, the whole place became unlocked. Door were flying open, cameras were off.

My room was near a fire escape; I took my chance and ran.

It was night. I got to the fence in the other side of the garden when I hit something. Fortunately for me, it was Mr Jacobs.

"Come on little one." He said, grabbing my hand. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

Everyone else was too busy concentrating on the inmates that refused to leave. The majority of them had been driven insane anyway and wouldn't leave their rooms unless forced.

Mr Jacobs took out a torch, shining it low so that no one else could see it. He led me through a hole in the fence that had been covered by various gardening equipment and led to the car park.

I hesitated.

"What are you doing? Get in!" He whispered, in a strict and harsh manner.

A shot rang through the air, before I knew it I was screaming from the intense pain. Mr Jacobs ran round the car, picked me up as easily as if I were a pillow or something and put me in the car.

The next thing I knew, we were speeding off. I could see the torches of the security guards from the facility reflecting on the car, and then they disappeared.

"Stay with me little one." Mr Jacobs urged, "We don't have too long a journey. They won't know where we are once we get there."

I tried to keep my eyes open, but the pain and lack of sleep was getting to me. When you get used to a timetable, and it suddenly gets hindered, it's hard to break out of it.

My eyes drifted close again. When they opened, we were somewhere else.

There were tubes all over me; I was hooked up to machines. That was when a red haired woman appeared.

"Hello Emily." She said, giving me a kind smile.

I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. My head throbbed, as did my chest. My leg was bandaged up.

"Don't hurt yourself, dear." The red haired women said. "My name is Jean Grey, but you can call me Jean." She still had that kind smile plastered on her face.

"What did you just call me?" I managed to get out before I had to take a deep breath. "I don't have a name."

"Your mother called you Emily Rose. The professor got access to your birth certificate thanks to his brother." She replied, looking over to Mr Jacobs, who was asleep in a chair.

"Mr Jacobs?" I asked.

She gave a slight giggle before replying. "He called himself Mr Jacobs so no one would question him as he searched for you."

Mr Jacobs had only worked at the facility for a few months. I did think it was odd how close we were, but I generally dismissed it.

"His name is William Jacob Xavier. He thinks of you as his own you know?"

I was about to reply when a bald man in a wheelchair came into the room.

"Hello Emily, I am Professor Charles Xavier" He said, he was so calm and kind. Like his brother. "Thank you, dear. And you are his daughter now."

The telepathic one.

"My brother and his wife have decided to adopt you. They are not able to have kids of their own, so he applied for adoption when you got here" He said.

"How long have I been here?" I could feel my body getting stronger, so I sat up.

"Three days." Jean told me. "You got Bill in such a fluster when you lost consciousness, but I guess after all you've gone through; a shot to the leg is a shock to your system."

I gathered Bill was short for William. "No, being electrocuted everyday is a shock to your system." I said to myself.

"Emily will fit in just fine." Bill, I didn't notice him waking up.

"So she will. Why don't you try standing Emily?" Charles asked.

I got up slowly, but nothing hurt. It happened so suddenly that it confused me.

"You have the ability to adapt to your situation, along with a healing ability." Charles said. "This is the first time you abilities were used for something other than their day to day requirement, so they took a bit longer to defend you. No need t worry though; you will be taught to use them properly, in time" Charles said.

"Why don't I show you to your room?" Jean asked, putting an arm round my shoulders.

"What a good idea." Bill agreed.

I had no idea I was underground the whole time, but the main house was breathtaking. It was huge, with kids of various ages running round everywhere.

Jean led me up a flight of stairs, we then went up another flight that went to the right of the first and walked down a hallway. I counted five doors as we went down. She then knocked on a door, to which a girl with fair skin, dark eyes and dark hair answered. She was little shorter than me.

"Kitty, you have a new roommate. This is Emily Xavier, I'm sure you'll make her feel comfortable." Jean said, and then she left.

"Hi!" Kitty said, holding out a hand. "You must be the one they just bought clothes on for."

"I don't have any clothes, I don't have anything." I replied, confused for what felt like the millionth time today.

"That's not what it looks like." Kitty said, before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the room.

The room was huge! All together there were ten beds, five against each wall, complete with a wardrobe and bed side table. The bedside tables had a lamp on each one.

"This is yours." Kitty told me.

My lamp was ice blue; I remembered telling Bill one day, before we left. There was also a letter; I grabbed it and opened it, sitting myself on my bed.

_Dear Emily,_

_I know you must be confused and I apologise for that, but it had to be done this way. There was no other way to get you out and I am also sorry for getting you hurt in the process._

_This is Charles Xavier's school for gifted youngsters, which you are one of. Charles would have told you what your abilities are by now, hopefully. Here, you will learn how to use and control them. You will make friends and you will be safe._

_My wife, Rachel, and I have decided to adopt you. I already think of you as a daughter and your 'mum' can't wait to meet you. We'll pick you up when classes finish for the summer, should you want to come home with us._

_Your wardrobe is fully stocked with various items of clothing. Rachel is a shop assistant and found out your size. There is also make up, jewellery and underwear in the small draws of your bedside table and a book is also in the top draw of it. I know how much you like to read._

_You are currently 13 and will turn 14 on the 19__th__ December. _

_I hope you enjoy your time here, we'll come and find you before we leave to say goodbye._

_Good Luck darling,_

_Bill._

The letter answered some question, but not many. That was when a bell rang.

"Dinner time" Kitty all but sang, "Are you coming?"

"Err...yeah." I replied shoving the letter in my pocket.

I guess I'd be ok now. It'll take some getting used to, but at least I'm out of wherever I was.

I had family now, and I'm pretty sure I have a friend too.

I may be some kind of 'gifted youngster', but I'm safe and I'm happy.

I belonged here, I always belonged here.


	4. Chapter 3- The Answers

Chapter 3: The Answers

Piotr's POV

"I'm a what?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My parents told me that I was a _Homo Superior,_ a mutant, something not quite human but not quite inhuman.

"Pete, honey, its ok. Our family has had at least one mutant in each generation. We were more than expecting it." My mother said, trying to calm me down.

I didn't know what to say, I was confused. My father then walked into the room and sat down with us. We were sat at the dining room table while my sister was watching TV in the lounge.

"I called my brother's friend and the school. Piotr, you'll be transferring to America next summer." I looked at my father; I had no idea whether I was relieved, betrayed or upset.

I looked at my mother. Her face made her look worried. Whether she was worried about what I was or worried about what was going to happen, I couldn't say. Then I looked at her eyes, and they said it all. There was something they else they hadn't told me.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"Just after your birth," My mother started, "You turned into your organic steel form when in the arms of the nurse after your health check, then turned into your...ummm...standard form when you were handed to me. Your gift wasn't tested though because you were in perfect health."

"So I've been able to do this my whole life and you didn't tell me?" The feeling of disbelief shot over me again. This was horrible; I'd never expected something like this to happen to me. I was just a Russian farm boy who lived in Siberia, Russia. I was nothing special, I was no hero.

"Pete, sweetie, we would of. But you showed no signs of your...err...gift after your birth. We thought maybe it was a onetime thing or something." My mum was getting more worried and scared with every passing minute.

"Anyway," My father interrupted, "The school is Xavier's school for gifted youngsters and is still run by its founder, Professor Charles Xavier." My father handed me a leaflet, and he had no emotion on his face at all.

I'd be starting at the school a year next September, it was currently 13th June 2000 and it was a week before my 14th birthday. My father told me that I was to act as if nothing had happened. My sister, Illyana, would be told what was happening soon, by my mother. My father now looked at me as if I was some alien and, at the same time, as if I were some trophy that should be paraded around in front of everyone.

My father took me out of school, deciding to home school me instead for the next year. I spent all my free time working on the farm, trying to help everyone as much as possible, also using the time to distract myself from the various looks people gave me. Some people respected me, others feared me. It was strange yet fascinating at the same time.

I had to take a year out of school due to documents being processed so I could get my Visa. It was a long process that was also very boring and required a lot of patience, which my father didn't have. I found out that I'd be staying with a friend of the schools founder and his family for a couple of months before school started so I could get used to living in a city location as opposed to the farm that I was born and raised on.

Illyana didn't react well to the news of me leaving. Our older brother, Mikhail, had already left due to being offered a graduate position at NASA, even though it was currently a very small, low paid role at the also Russian Space Air Base. As a result, Illyana had a mild abandonment issue. Not seeing her smiling face every day was going to rip me apart. Illyana always had something to smile about, the few times she didn't it wasn't hard to help her find a reason to smile.

My mother was a different story. Her expression got more worried with every passing day. The worry was slowly showing on her face as a permanent fixture. Frown lines and dark eyes from sleepless nights became her new norm. Her eye sockets were also constantly red from the countless times she cried when she thought no one was there to hear her. I only knew this because I got up for a glass of water one night to hear sobbing from the bathroom, with a small ray of light coming through the crack through the slightly open door.

My father was the opposite. He had always kept his emotions hidden; my older brother also had the trait. The rest of my family and I didn't see any evidence of worry until the upcoming weeks before my departure. He went the opposite way to my mother. He started acting like he did when we were kids. He would wake up ridiculously early every morning to make our family pancakes for breakfast, he spent ages scrubbing dishes, and he'd help my mum with cleaning the house. By the end of the year, a few days before my birthday, he would do anything to avoid seeing or talking to anyone. Anyone except mother, when she needed comforting. Even then he would wait until the last minute, which generally happened when Illyana would slam her bedroom door and cry into her bundle of various hand me down toys.

Birthday's, and any other holiday, were a welcome distraction from it all.

When it got to my own birthday, I couldn't remember a time in my life when I'd been happier. Mikhail had come home the night before, bringing with him a light up solar system for Illyana and a box of space books as my birthday present. They included books on the planets, moons, stars, the sun, black holes. Basically everything about the universe. He said it was because he missed home and wished he could be here more.

My parents gave me a goodie bag with various things about America inside, as well as my Visa and acceptance letter to Professor Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters. I was excited about going, as I'd never been outside Russia before. I also, however, found it daunting for the same reason as well as because I'd be leaving my family behind.

My sister, on the other hand, had made me a scrap book to take with me."I have a matching one!" She beamed, even though tears were in her eyes. "Look, look! See?" Illyana shoved her own scrap book in my face. She was trying so hard to not run to her bedroom screaming and crying.

The rest of the day was cheerful, although my father ended up cooking way to much food and my mother used all the loo roll from her not so secret 'secret' crying.

The flight over wasn't quite easy however. The plane ride was long; it was my first time on a plane but still.

It was the first part of my new life. I was looking forward to learning about my ability and meeting others like myself. The past year, I had been training myself to use my ability, seeing what it took to make me...turn into what it was. By the time the year was up, I was able to turn on will. I wanted to be prepared for the time ahead.

I was welcomed by a couple of the teachers from the school.

They introduced themselves as Ororo and Scott.


	5. Chapter 4- A Place like No Other

Chapter 4: A Place like No Other

Emily's POV

The school was amazing. There were so many students, some as young as 6 where as the oldest students were 18, and so many classes. We had a few common mandatory classes like English, Maths and Science as well as a few mandatory mutant courses. Our mandatory ones included mutant ability and practise. After that, we had a choice of several other classes, some of which were taught at local schools after public school hours were finished, where as other were taught at the school. I chose PE and Art, both of which were taught at the school.

I had a couple of friends, one of them being Kitty who welcomed me to the dorms and had the ability to walk through things whether it was a wall, a door of the ground. My other friend was Blake Matthews; he had more of a physical mutation as he looked like a human-dragon hybrid. He had green scales from his fingertips to his elbows as well as from his toes to his knees, he also had a line of thorn like ridges down the length of his spine and also had a tail as well as wings, all different shades of green except when he used his ability to manifest fire. At that point, all the scales, ridges, his tail and wings went red as did his irises. I had a few other friends but Kitty and Blake were my closest friends.

I was in my ability and practise class, which was being led by Jean Grey as Scott and Ororo were out on business. It was one of two classes that Kitty, Blake and I had together and things were a constant battle. I had been at the school for a couple of months now but my abilities were nowhere near to being under control. I was staring at an empty fishbowl, filled with water, when Jean came up to me.

"It's ok," She started, "Just take a deep breath and do whatever your instincts tell you to."

She was now stood beside me, the tension and expectation to do something was starting to overwhelm me.

"She can't even boil it!" A blonde guy from the other side of the room said to his, or more like shouted at them.

The Professor and other staff here were trying to test the extent of what I could do. So far they've found that I can't get electrocuted, that injuries only last a couple of days at most and that my body doesn't absorb poison and other toxins of that nature.

All of a sudden, I felt the urge to touch the water, reacting to a sudden temperature change in my body. As more of my hand became submerged in the water, more of it absorbed into my skin until the fishbowl was empty. I then heard the boy from earlier showing off to one of his friends.

"Why don't we show the newbie how it's done, Bobby?" He asked his friend.

Bobby looked at me apologetically before the first boy let a match and encased the flame in his hand. He then held his hand out, flat, towards Bobby. Before Bobby could do anything, my right arm shot out in front of me; water escaped from my hand like a tidal wave and didn't stop until the boy was a soaking wet mess in the floor.

"John, what have I told you about antagonising others? It's not nice nor is it safe." Jean said as she helped him up off of the floor. "And as for you, Emily, I think you need to go to the Professor. Now." She wasn't angry, but she was stern.

I nodded at her and left the classroom, making my way down the hall to where Professor Xavier's office and classroom was. When I got there, I raised my hand to knock on the door but Ororo opened it before I had the chance to.

"Hello Emily." Ororo greeted me with a smile, "Come in, dear."

I was welcomed into the office where the Professor, Ororo and Scott were, along with a boy who I didn't recognise.

"Professor, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose control like-"I started.

"It's alright Emily, that's not why you're here. This is Peter, he's a new student here and you will be in the same Art class. I thought that, as you are our latest edition other than Peter that you might keep him company."

I looked at Peter; he was very tall and quite muscled. I held my hand out towards him before suddenly saying 'Hello' in Russian. He replied with the same.

"Interesting" Was all that the Professor said before letting us leave for our next class.

The Art classes here were treated as being subjective. We could draw or paint what we wanted within the week's theme. The class was supervised by Katlyn Binks who was actually a scientist and part of the medical staff at the school but she did art in her free time.

Due to the weather being warm and sunny, the class was taken outside. I realised that other students had since started to avoid me; the majority wouldn't even look at me let alone say hi to me or anything. They all loved Peter though, especially the girls. They were all over him, flirting and flipping their hair. He smiled at them before he then stopped and looked back at me as I was walking at the back of the group before turning back around. I hadn't realised that he'd stopped until I almost walked into him. He turned round just in time to stop me.

"What's happened?" He asked, in English. "Why do they not talk to you?"

"Most people don't. I'm not exactly a normal mutant, if there is such a thing." I replied. "And you speak English?" I asked.

"And you speak Russian, which caught me off guard." He replied.

"That makes two of us." I said before a little laugh escaped my mouth, "I've never even read anything Russian, let alone used the language before."

It was odd, everything about me was odd. I looked odd, I did odd things. I was as far from normal as this place could get.

"Well, thank you, at least. It was nice to hear someone speak my language when I'm so far from home."

"Well, you're welcome." I replied.

"You're name is Emily-Rose, yes?" He asked.

"Yeah, Emily-Rose Xavier. Why?"

"No reason. Just clarifying." He answered.

The class explored the gardens, sketching the various flowers, plants and trees that the school had dotted around everywhere. The bell went off after an hour and a half to signify that it was lunch time. Peter was dragged this way and that by various classmates. I on the other hand ran off to meet my friends. I was too busy speed walking down the corridor to the biology lab to realise I was about to walk into someone. Before I knew it, I was falling to the floor and a familiar voice was apologising. Bobby.

"I'm sorry, I-"He started, "Emily, hi." He said, helping me up before he started to collect my things for me. "Are you ok? I'm sorry for what John did this morning. He's been acting strange."

"It's ok, and thanks for the help. " I replied. Bobby then ran off to join his own friends just as Blake and Kitty exited their own classrooms.

We went to the food hall for lunch. It was an extension of the already large dining room that the school had when it was the home of the Xavier family. It could now seat every student and staff member of the school plus extra seating.

My friends were busy talking about their Extra Biology assignment when I found a piece of paper hanging out of my sketch book. I took it out and unfolded it to find a sketch of a rose whose thorn covered stem had been twisted into an 'e' shape and the petals of which were coloured a bright blood red. In the bottom left corner of the sketch were two words.

'Emily's Rose."

That night, the picture became the first of many sketches to adorn the inside of my wardrobe door.

It was also the start of something much better than I could ever have dreamed would have happened to me.

After all, I am just a mutant whack job after all. Right?


	6. Chapter 5- Worse before Better

AN; The following chapters take place during the original trilogy. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 5: It gets worse before it gets better

May 2003

Emily's POV

There were now several drawings and letters inside my wardrobe, I also owned a few folders full of them. Peter wrote to me every day of every holiday we had, sending me off with the first letter each time. I constantly look at the drawings and read the letters in my free time.

Peter didn't pay much attention to most people. He was shy so didn't speak much. Occasionally I would catch him looking at me, just out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't a creepy look, more like a worried and desire to guard kind of look. I was glad to have someone like him around.

We had a period of free time due to a biology lesson being cancelled as Jean Grey and the professor were away at a governmental conference. There was no cover available so they just gave us extra work to fill in for the missed class.

Most of the students were playing with the various games systems and sports tables. Peter was playing with the foosball table, on the same team as Blake, opposing Bobby and John. We had all got over several of our previous fights and other spats. We weren't quite friends but we weren't acquaintances or enemies either.

I was lounging on a sofa, reading a book. Othello was my favourite Shakespeare play and the professor had given me his copy of its book form, I had found it on my bed after one of my classes. I could hear Kitty chattering away at someone in a distant corner of the room, her voice was distinguishable over many others. A gentle nudge against my shoulder bought me out of my thoughts.

"You seem to constantly have your nose in that book. I swear this is the fourth time you've read it since you found it on your bed." Blake said, before giving me a cheeky smile.

"So what? I like books...and plays...and films..." My voice trailed off as I caught John walking over towards the sofa.

"Hi Emily, hey lizard boy." John and Blake didn't get on well; I think John might be a bit jealous of the whole self sourcing fire thing.

"How can I help you, Mr Pyro?" I asked with a sly smile. Pyro had become a nickname for John, I added on the Mr part as a jab back at him.

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know the Peter's been talking about you." He shrugged and walked off.

I closed my book and placed it on the sofa before locking eyes with my friend. I had constantly hoped for the past nearly three years wanting something more than just friendship with him.

But alas, nothing.

Our eyes locked for a few mere seconds before he looked around and quickly walked off, making his way out of the room. I followed.

"Peter, stop. Please? I'm quite a bit shorter than you!" I tried to make a joke out of it; the truth was I was practically jogging to try to keep up with him. Peter was now 6'4" where as I was a mere 5'5".

He stopped suddenly, in the middle of the corridor.

"Emily," He started, his nerves causing his voice to catch in his throat.

What he said next caused my heart to skip a beat, and not in a good way.

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Piotr's POV

Everyone called me Peter or Pete here, it saved them from getting my name wrong and to be honest, I've always preferred the English pronunciation anyway. There were, however, more pressing matters at hand.

My parent's farm was falling to pieces. Yes, we shared it with other families, but the crops they were in charge of were failing. They were losing money and workers. To make things worse, my older brother had gone missing and the fact that I was here and not at home where I could help them was ripping me apart. Just as I was feeling at home here in America, my home in Russia was falling apart.

I couldn't focus on my classes and I was attempting to use socialising as a distraction; however that just made me sink into myself even more and caused me to come across as shy.

I needed to go home but I had to figure out how to tell my friends, especially Emily. I had hoped to ask her out sometime but every time I had come close to asking her, I chickened out. Now I had the problems back home to deal with as well.

I had just finished playing a round foosball with Bobby, John and Blake when I found I couldn't deal with it anymore. Blake had gone over to Emily to talk to her about her book which she had been reading for the seventh time since she found it in her bed a month and a half ago. Don't ask me how I know that, I just do.

"I need to talk to Em." I told them. Before I could do anything about it, John had made his way over to Emily and Blake. I knew he would be spinning the truth so I made a run for it. Adrenaline flooding my body as I began to panic.

She eventually caught up with me in the corridor that lead to the kitchen.

"Emily," I started. I caught her by the shoulders just before she could run into me. She had a habit of doing that. "I-I need to go back to Russia. My parent's farm is in trouble and I feel I need to-"She took off before I could finish. I wouldn't find out why until that evening.

* * *

Emily's POV

I knew I was being greedy but I couldn't lose him. I felt he was the one keeping me sane in this place. Yes, I had Kitty but she had other friends and I wasn't close to anyone except her and Peter. Bobby and John were ok but they were still Bobby and John. Bobby was quiet and John was just annoying. I made my way to the professor's office the second he (telepathically) told me he was back from the conference.

"I know what's going on and I'm already sorting it." Charles told me the minute I walked through the door. "An old friend of mine has taken a team of scientists with him, along with Professor Binks, to figure out what is going on. Your Biology class will be spending work experience at the farm, or at least those who get permission from their families will."

All I could do was look at him and feel even greedier.

"It isn't greedy to be concerned for a friend, no matter what feelings you may have towards him that are...stronger... than friendship. It's just part of growing" He told me.

The next month was more amazing then anything!

* * *

AN: Thought they'd get together did you? Life's not that easy guys...


	7. Chapter 6-Russia

Chapter 6; Russia

Emily's POV

The chance to do something that helps others and go somewhere I've never been still amazed me. My 'dad' signed my permission slip as soon as I told him about the trip. There were eight of us, including the two adults, going. Peter had left a week early to get a head start.

I felt sorry for him. His older brother was missing, his sister was getting picked on at school, and his parents were losing money. Professor X has taking Peter's tuition fees into his own hands, he'll always subsidise students or pay for them if needed. He was currently covering 15 students.

The group was led by Hank McCoy and Professor Binks. Jean Grey was going to come too but something came up concerning a mutant gone rogue and a feral guy Storm and Cyclops found when hunting down some bad guys henchman. Charles didn't tell us very much about X-Men stuff but he said that the guy that these mutants worked for was dangerous to standard humans and possibly mutants as well.

The six students in the group included me, Blake, Bobby, John, Kitty and a girl called Magenta. Don't let Magenta's name fool you though, she's as far from a pink girl as it gets.

Magenta is a quiet girl that sits in the back of our biology class. Oddly enough, she has black hair, which she dyes to look like an oil slick with yellow roots, pink through the middle and blue tips. She has dark brown eyes and tanned skin. I couldn't tell you anything else except that she wears black satin and lace all the time as well as black boots of various leg heights and that her ability was to grow and use organic matter for whatever she wanted.

We weren't allowed to bring much, even though we were going to be staying on the Rasputin family farm land for one week. There wasn't much room for storage as the extra beds took up the space Peter's family normally used. The boys would be bunking with Peter and we were staying with his sister Illyana where as Hank had the spare room. Professor Binks doesn't sleep so she offered to any extra jobs needed.

We were told to bring; a couple of set of clothes suitable for farm work that would also keep us warm, as well as clothes that we wouldn't mind getting wrecked, then a set of clothes for when we weren't working (basically for tea time), PJ's and other necessities along with two pairs of sturdy shoes- I have a pair of wellies and some hiking boots, as well as slippers for around the house.

Looking out of the window as the plane was landing took my breath away. Yes, it looked cold and wet but it was also kind of beautiful. I had visited this place before on order to visit Pete during the holidays, but I had never visited his family farm and I was never by myself. I could hear Jon moaning from, two rows behind me, already. He had been forced on this trip by his tutor, Scott Summers/Cyclops for extra credit as he was failing several classes. My tutor was Ororo Munroe/Storm.

When we got through arrivals, we were met with Peter and his family, although his dad wasn't there as he was at a landowners meeting. We all introduced ourselves before piling into two 4X4's.

The rest of the day was spent learning how to use the few pieces of machinery they had. Hank and Professor Binks were helping to figure out what was going on with the crops so we could help fix it over the coming weeks, with Hank planning to stay on longer to help with the fix.

For dinner that night we were bowls of stew and a couple of slices of bread. I could see John making faces at the meal even before he was given it.

"We eat what we're given or nothing at all." Peter's sister, Illyana, said to him when people started noticing the face he made at the food.

After dinner, Hank gave us all timetables and told us to go to bed due to an early morning and long day ahead of us, even though some of us had been cleared to use some abilities when needed.

The timetable is as following, each day for the seven day week;

3 am: Get up

4 am: Breakfast

5 am: Briefing from landowners

5:30 am-9am: Assigned work

9am-9:30 am: Break

9:30am-12:30: Assigned work

12:30-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30 pm-4:00pm: Assigned work

4:00 pm-6:00pm: Assignment work

6:00pm-8:00 pm: Assigned work

8:00pm-9:00pm: Dinner

9:00pm: Bedtime

We were all looking at our timetables; I had been assigned with plant care as well as other odd jobs. Due to my ability, which is to evolve to my situation...Apparently, they weren't sure what area I'd be most useful in. It didn't help that my ability is a multiple thing as opposed to a singular like most students.

Everyone was moaning at the lack of sleep time but to me, timetables like this were the norm, if not then slightly more generous.

In Illyana's room, Kitty and I were sleeping on spare mattresses on the floor where as Magenta was sleeping on Illyana's bottom bunk as she had bunk beds. We had a pillow each and a few blankets, we were also all in winter Pj's with gloves and socks/slippers on as it was a really cold night.

The following day was basically spent doing inventory, assessing the soil and re-planting various plants. The briefing was more of a pep talk to get everyone going, which John thought was optional and that he could sleep through it. It's weird; John has been acting really stuck up for a few months now.

Anyway...

Breaks were spent in the saunas. We were all in winter clothes, with layers upon layers which we had to strip off in the space of five minutes. There were separate saunas for men and women and we could only go in once we had spent 5-10 minutes getting back to a decent temperature so we didn't get frostbite or anything. So we only got about ten minutes each break and 30 minutes at lunch if you were quick enough.

The week went on like that. As soon as our heads hit the pillows, we were asleep. We were also all aching by the end of it but it was fun, in an 'I did some good and gained experience' kind of way.

My ability developed more. By the end of the week I had enough control over it to sometimes pick what help I needed from it. I was carrying boxes the same weight as the ones Hank and Peter were carrying by day two and helped the minerals in the soil to become more equal.

It turned out that the soil wasn't rich enough in the parts that the plants needed to grow and the cold wasn't helping. Hank asked Xavier for funding so that specialist equipment could be bought to help it.

Peter was coming back to school, although not until September. Seeing him happy made part of me sad that he was leaving his family but part of me was happy he was coming back. I didn't know if I was greedy or jealous but I was certainly confused.

The last day didn't help much with that. Peter and I were eating lunch together when he suddenly looked around, nervously.

"Emily, can I talk to you about something?" he asked.

At the time I was half asleep so my reply was a little rough...and mean.

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

"About us." He said, "I really like you but I don't want to hurt you as I live here and you live in America."

I looked back at him, shocked and breathing deep. He feels the same way I do?

"I-I feel the same way. We already have a long distance friendship and we visit each other sometimes." I replied.

"Well then, I guess that's it." He said before kissing my cheek and walking away.

I spent the last night awake and thinking about what had happened. After that and an evening of trying to catch the other one staring at each other, I felt more confused then before. But what are first loves for anyway? Other than butterflies and first kisses?

We were all heading home the next day, minus Peter.

Peter and his family were seeing us through departures and I couldn't help but look back at him as the distance between us grew.

"Go, don't worry honey. I've got your bags." Professor Binks said.

I quickly said thanks before dropping my back pack and running to him. Adrenaline hit me so hard that I couldn't hear my brain trying to reject the actions.

Peter turned round just before I got to him, wrapped his arms around my waist, with my arms around his neck, picked me up and kissed me as he stood up straight. It was passionate and long awaited yet sweet and tender.

I'm Emily, I'm 17 and I can safely say that my first kiss was something from a romance movie.

And it was perfect.


	8. Chapter 7-The Rogues

**AN: Hi guys, I hope you're enjoying the story so far! From now on this story will be following the original X-Men storyline until it meets up with Days of Future Past before going to a new timeline.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: The Rogues

Getting back to school after a brief holiday was easy. After spending the week in Russia back in early October, I spent three weeks in Florida with my family meeting my adoptive parent's baby son. He was called Morgan and I had spent the holiday babysitting so our parents could have some time off. They had pulled me out of school when my brother was due as my mum wanted 'her perfect little family' fully present, as she had put it.

Cyclops and Storm had bought back two mutants, both unconscious. One was an adult male, the other a teenage girl who was a similar age to me. The girl woke up first, she was a little disorientated and shy but at least our dorm room is full now. It has taken three weeks of testing and the new student to get used to her surroundings before she joined us.

She was introduced to us as simply just Rogue. No last name, no known family. Although I could tell it was just a cover up, Charles always finds out everything about students and possible new staff members or, at least, as much as he could find out.

Rogue was sweet, if slightly scared by human contact. She would silently hang out with Kitty and I when we weren't in class and we'd basically ask her yes and no questions to get to know her as she barely spoke.

Some people were a bit scared of her, however. Bobby had taken a shining to her, but even he was wary. There was an issue after her friend woke up.

He was having a nightmare and she was awake. I guess she could hear his panic as she left to see what was going on, I woke up after hearing the dorm door close. From what we gather, she had surprised her friend, Logan, and his ability manifested itself. Six metal claws protruded from his hands and he shoved them through her chest. We were all woken by his screams for help; by the time we got there he was laying Rogue on the floor.

That was when we saw her ability. She placed a hand on Logan's cheek and basically sucked his life out of him. She healed and he collapsed, most of the students have been scared of her ever since.

I on the other hand, saw someone who needed someone else to talk to, someone to support her. I started by having very one sided conversations with her, then I emailed her and wrote letters to her while I was away. She had opened up by late November, but she was still very shy.

Today went slow, we basically spent the whole morning making notes about what we were going to do that year, what trips we were going on, what materials we needed to buy as well as filling out forms for assisted funding if we needed to. It may be November but the staff at the school liked to plan ahead, especially Cyclops. That guy always needs a plan of action.

We were making our way to the food hall for lunch when someone grabbed me from behind and picked me up, making me squeal. Kitty and Rogue also gasped in reaction to my squeal of surprise.

"Piotr, put me down!" I shouted. I could tell it was him as he was the only one I hadn't threatened to punch if he tried to pick me up. I'm not one for being man-handled.

"Sorry." He said quietly before putting me down and kissing my cheek. "What's for lunch?"

"No clue," Kitty replied, "No one's written anything on the board. This is Rogue, by the way. Rogue, this is Pete."

"Hi." Rogue whispered, facing the floor and making a small waving gesture.

Piotr had been on 'work experience' with Charles and Hank from the third week of September to today, apparently. He wanted to experience mutant politics and see the reactions some humans had towards us as he was used to being a great help on the farms and hadn't experienced much of the Anti Mutant Movement. Charles had been taking him to various meeting and talks, and they had spent the whole time in hotels before Rogue had woken up. Charles, along with Jean, had come back to the school where as Pete continued his work experience with Hank who had recently started going into politics. Thus, Piotr had never met Rogue.

I lost my train of thought and the next moment, everyone in front of us stared to gang up with everyone behind us pushing forward to see what was going on. I saw a small flash of fire before pushing my way through the crowd.

"Come on, lizard boy! Show us your scales!" A voice shouted.

When I got to the middle, I saw Blake on the floor being prodded with sticks by some of John's friends, although John himself was nowhere to be found.

Blake and I had lost contact over the summer. He had got into some trouble with his older brother; he got forced to join their Humans for Mutants gang. It sounds like it would be a good thing but then you find out that his brother's gang trash medical labs, no one has died as a result of it luckily. Unfortunately, Blake was left to take the fall for his brother and his friends one time. He was caught by the police and was put in a detention centre for four weeks, it was originally longer but Charles and a lawyer friend of his intervened on Blake's parents behalf. Although Blake had to name everyone else involved. His brother's gang are serving five years in jail and have been fined for damages.

Charles told my adoptive dad everything that had happened as Blake wouldn't talk to me, no matter what way of communication I tried. He would barely even look at anyone who had been his friend much.

But he was still my friend none the less, and I wasn't going to stand there and let him get bruised.

The spectators started chanting: Fight! Fight! Fight!

One of the guys with a wooden baseball bat swung it back, aiming to hit Drake. I stood in front of my friend, guarding him, and caught the bat in my hand. However, I didn't see the metal bat as it was swung and came into contact with my stomach. I blacked out before anything else happened, the last thing I saw was a blurred view of the ceiling as my body hit the cold tile floor before everything went black.


End file.
